Yellow Salsify

Yellow Salsify~ tragopogon dubius

The development of this flower is very interesting. Years ago I was fortunate to capture the three stages of its life cycle in one photo (the second photo). First, the closed pod appears and inside it the flower develops: suddenly the pod opens and the yellow flower appears. During its flower stage it closes at night and on dark or rainy days, and re-opens the next day. At the final maturity of the flower it closes, and inside the pod the seeds develop, after which it opens one last time and the seed head appears to allow the wind to spread the little parachutes of seeds.

Wildflowers in the rain

Pointedtip Mariposa Lily, Three-spot Mariposa Lily, Baker’s Mariposa ~ Calochortus apiculatus

Woolly Groundsel ~ Packera cana

Poison Larkspur ~ Delphinium trolliifolium

Yellow Salsify, Meadow Goatsbeard ~ Tragopogon dubius

Howell’s Pussytoes ~ Antennaria howellii

Choke Cherry ~ Prunus Virginiana

Mountain Lady’s Slipper ~ Cypripedium montanum

Antelope Bitterbrush, Antelope-brush ~ Purshia tridentata

Rydberg’s Penstemon ~ Penstemon rydbergii

Starry False Lily-of-the-valley, Star-flowered Solomon’s-seal ~ Maianthemum stellatum

Smallflower Miterwort, Side-flowered Mitrewort, Cross-shaped Mitrewort ~ Ozomelis stauropetala

Feathery False Lily-of-the-valley, Plumed Solomon’s Seal, Plumed Spikenard ~ Maianthemum racemosum

The thing about photographing wildflowers is that you have to be there when they are blooming, which means lots and lots of trips into the woods, the meadows, the trails and along the streams – sunshine or rain. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

It’s getting along toward that time of the season

Last Saturday there some shrubs along the trail with pairs of red berries; Utah Honeysuckle. Then today as I was enjoying some Serviceberries (my favorite wild fruit) I noticed the seed head of a Goat’s Beard, and I realized that it is already getting into the mature time of the season.

Utah Honeysuckle, Lonicera utahensis

Yellow Salsify, Goat’s Beard, Tragopogon dubius

Saskatoon, Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia

Back to the flowers

Red-osier Dogwood, Cornus stolonifera, May 27

Yellow Salsify, Goat’s Beard, Tragopogon dubious, May 27

Yarrow, Milfoil, Achillea millefolium, May 27

Hound’s Tongue, Gypsy Flower ~ Cynoglossum official, May 26

Dunno, May 21

Thread-leaved Phacelia, Thread-leaf Scorpion-weed, Phacelia liners, May 30

White Campion, Bladder Campion, Silene latifolia, May 30

Wildflowers of spring (6)

Arctic Lupine ~ Lupinus arcticus 5/19

Antelope Bush ~ Purshia tridentata 5/22

Sticky Geranium ~ Geranium viscosissimum 5/22

Yellow Salsify ~ Tragopogon dubius 5/22

Black Hawthorn ~ Crataegus giyglasii 5/22

Falsebox, Oregon Boxleaf ~ Paxistima myrsinites 5/22

Life cycle

It’s not common to see the whole life cycle of a plant displayed all at once, all on one single stalk, but that’s what this Yellow Salsify was doing this morning.

AKA Goats-beard, Tragopogon dubius